1,286 persons test positive for COVID-19

• All patients detected on Friday were from New Year cluster
• Total COVID-19 case count rises to 643,072
• Includes 537,321 from New Year cluster
• 18,704 persons currently receiving treatment

By Shailendree Wickrama Adittiya

Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 case count rose to 643,072 following the detection of 1,286 COVID-19 patients yesterday.

The Department of Government Information states that all patients detected yesterday were from the New Year cluster.

On Thursday, 1,208 patients from the New Year cluster were detected. According to the Health Promotion Bureau, 7,200 PCR tests and 3,281 rapid antigen tests were conducted on Thursday.

In total, 537,321 persons from the New Year cluster, 82,785 persons from the Peliyagoda cluster, 9,154 persons from the Prisons cluster and 3,059 persons from the Divulapitiya cluster have tested positive for COVID-19. In addition to this, 7,225 Sri Lankan returnees from overseas and 328 foreigners have tested positive for the virus.

The Epidemiology Unit states that 133,093 patients from Colombo, 111,636 patients from Gampaha, 56,851 patients from Kalutara, 42,668 patients from Galle and 30,584 patients from Kurunegala have been detected.

COVID-19 detections during the third wave of the pandemic include 100,796 persons from Colombo, 93,102 persons from Gampaha, and 49,793 persons from Kalutara. 

According to the Epidemiology Unit, 18,704 persons are currently under medical or home-based care. In addition to this, 1,324 persons suspected of having COVID-19 are under observation.

A total of 314 persons were discharged from treatment centres yesterday, raising the country’s COVID-19 recoveries to 608,226.